a blog to answer your questions
about what life is like
in rural oregon after leaving the bay area

Thursday, September 2, 2010

what did i get for my birthday?

An Australian speeding ticket.I was driving 112km in a 100km zone- translation 68mph in a 62mph. The officer was quite pleasant but didn't care that I was American, that it was my birthday, that I didn't really know where I was going, that I was going with the flow of traffic ("truck trains" were passing me), or that I had never received a speeding ticket. Keep in mind that I'm also driving on the wrong side of the road- yes, Australians drive on the left. He handed me the ticket, which wasn't capable of recording my American address, so he put my hotel address, and told me to go to the police station in Pittsworth and pay the fine.

In Australia (where we are staying) to get anywhere you have to travel for miles on country roads. Roads that are two lanes with no islands or shoulders. Roads that aren't quite flat, because the soil is constantly sinking and shifting, and full of potholes. Oh, any every other car is actually a truck- a big rig, a truck train (as Australians call them) coming straight at you. It's harrowing. Top that off with the paranoia of getting pulled over for driving faster than 100km (which I have not since receiving my ticket) and I no longer enjoy driving. Driving a rental car without cruise control doesn't help.

Anyway, the speeding ticket wasn't the only thing I received for my birthday. When I arrived at my birthday hotel room- with a view of Toowoomba- two flower bouquets were waiting for me. On was from my "favourite" husband and the other from my "mum" and dad. Don't you love the Aussies?

When I get flowers, I forget everything bad and I smile and the smile turns into laughter. Lucky you, that after that birthday traffic ticket, your loved ones knows how you will easily forget the not so bad experience in the foreign country.